


Prelude to a Terrible Fate

by Anakha



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Gen, My own history of Termina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 09:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15637857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anakha/pseuds/Anakha
Summary: "Yes, yes, this is indeed a blessed meeting," the mask salesman with the too-wide grin said, "Shall I tell a story to pass the time? ...What? This mask? It's a very evil mask, or it was once. ...Where did it come from? That, my child, is a long, long story."





	1. A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is written on the premise of Termina being an alternate world and not created by Skill Kid. Also, the person in the prologue has no identity, they're filler.

A freak thunderstorm broke out over the woods, drenching all beneath the leaves. Even the vast canopy couldn't protect anyone from the torrents. So instead, the young woman ducked into a cave, wringing out her skirts as she sat there on a rock. It didn't take long for her to realize another was here--a red-haired man with a heavy backpack next to him covered in masks. He'd already even built a fire!

She looked on in envy, and somehow, despite his eyes being constantly closed, he turned his head toward her and she could tell he was looking at her. It was as if some secret, mystical gaze was quite suddenly on her. And while she could say he turned his head, it was more like he was suddenly "looking" right at her, without any visible movement to get to the change of position.

She was tempted to turn and take her chances with the storm.

"Come, sit, sit! I'm not one to let someone catch a chill from the rain when I'm fortunate enough to already be staying here," he called with an almost musical voice. She nodded awkwardly and then came to sit on a rock near him, taking in the warmth of the flame. Quietly, she took in the faces of the masks better--a number of them strange or even creepy, while others looked fun and decorative. Her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Well, the rain will last quite a while, I'm afraid, if it's not let up yet. Perhaps we should get to know each other? I'm afraid I'm not too interesting--simply a mask salesman, although you could also call me a salesman of happiness," he laughed. She just smiled awkwardly, gesturing to her own cargo. Nothing much, just a sack of clothes she had hoped to sell at market.

"A fellow merchant, then? What a wonderful chance meeting this is, then!"

He reached around and pulled his backpack nearer, showing off the masks. Her eyes looked over them again, and she quickly became aware of the strange not-gaze this man seemed to have. Like he was looking into her very mind and soul, peeling back the layers of her to her very core. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, and for half a moment she wondered if he was some kind of god or demon. The woods, after all, weren't safe.

"My, but isn't it a little boring just waiting like this? And you seem quite curious, an admirable trait in someone your age!" he declared easily. Her mother had often scolded her for her curiosity, so it burned at her in a strange way--some mix between embarrassment and pride. She decided to swallow it.

"Yes, yes, this is indeed a blessed meeting," the mask salesman with the too-wide grin said, "Shall I tell a story to pass the time?"

She could feel his eyes on her at all times as her eyes flickered over his masks on his bag, the fire crackling as it cast its light in an almost ominous way as her eyes passed over a particular mask once, then returned to linger. It was almost heart-shaped with multicolor spikes jutting out of the sides, the base stained a deep purple with large, enrapturing eyes peering out from it.

"...What? This mask? It's a very evil mask, or it was once. The evil's all gone now, thanks to a particularly talented young man," he mused as if reminiscing. He turned his head to the roof of the cave, letting silence fall save for the crackling of the fire. It lasted long enough to be comfortable, when he snapped back to his previous position without warning--like she'd simply blinked and missed the movement, just like before.

"...Where did it come from? That, my child, is a long, long story."

But she hungered still for that story, and that hunger burned in her brain and behind her eyes. She dare not speak it aloud, but the merchant she was sharing her cave with seemed to simply know anyway. That smile of his split his face again, far too wide for him to be human. Once again, she wondered if he was a demon.

"Well then. Let me tell you the story of a place called Termina. A place that, for a long, long time, was doomed to a terrible fate."


	2. Fairy Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fairy tale to whet the appetite, he assured. A preview of the events to come.

Once upon a time, there was a land created along with the rest of the world. If the land of Hyrule was blessed by the Goddesses, then the land of Termina was never once spared even a glance. But that is fine. There are other gods and goddesses, and life bloomed there anyway. There, particularly, was a sun and a moon goddess and god--respectively, even. And with them lived eight other deities. And for a time, these ten lived with their people, watching over in their own ways.

Over time, though, the gods that had once remained separate chanced to meet. On the day of the first eclipse, which later became a grand carnival, the Sun Goddess finally met the Moon God who had been chasing her. The two stood in the sky, greeting each other for the first time, and the brilliance that radiated from that event caused the other gods to finally realize that the two above were there.

Their worlds changed that day. The Sun and Moon deities left their homes, allowing sun and moon to turn on their own, and began to cultivate and divide the lands of Termina with those who already lived upon the land--as well as finally handing out tasks to the other gods. First, they created finer lines between the people who came, and allowed them all to ask the gods what they needed. And so the four cardinal directions were reshaped to be useful homes to these people.

A warrior was granted the title of a nature god, and allowed to rule his favored race, who he ushered toward the swamp where they would thrive and know plenty. A mechanical being was granted the title of the god of seasons, and he took his favored people toward the mountains where he granted them industry. A giant fish was given the role of a god of storms, and he took his favored race to the sear where the became expert weather-watchers and wayfinders. The twin goddess was granted the role of judge over life and death, and she took her people to the deserts where they learned the secrets of surviving in harsh climates like the scarab beetles. And finally, the final four, all similar and brother-like, were tasked with defending the land from threats.

But as time wore on, and the four gods grew busy with their own devices and duties, the people forgot them. They began to only remember the protector giants, and even the Sun and Moon were forgotten. The latter two didn't mind much, but the other four began to feel uncomfortable with the change of hierarchy among their worshipers. So the Sun saw this and decided that perhaps it was time to do something.

And so our story truly begins...


End file.
